


Weightless

by kesdax



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 18:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10577391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kesdax/pseuds/kesdax
Summary: The dangers of zero-G.





	

She was floating.

She wasn't part of earth or sky, of Andromeda or Thessia. Not even a part of herself. She was nothing, weightless.

She was free.

This was the best feeling.

Peebee closed her eyes, let her body do its thing. As Poc, too, succumbed to the effects of no gravity, she nudged her elbow, sent her twirling in another direction, in all directions. In none.

It was like floating on the surface of an ocean, but better, less wet. Less fish. When she was growing up on Thessia, when there was no access to a zero-G environment, the ocean was the next best substitute. The fish nibbled at her toes and, afterwards, she shivered all the way home.

It had been her mother's idea to live by the beach. A home far away from Thessia’s main cities. Peebee both loved and hated it. She grew up surrounded by asari Matriarchs nearing the end of their lives and longed for the big city, for the openness and vastness of space and all those other worlds and species, those known and those yet to be discovered. She wanted to meet with turians, salarians, humans. She wanted study them, talk and dance and laugh.

But she was too young, her mother would say, her sister too. In their eyes, she would always be the child of the family, not yet even a Maiden.

They had no idea she'd joined the Initiative, left for Andromeda. But both would be long gone now. Six hundred years was a long time, even for an asari. If her sister still lived, she would be in her Matriarch years, old and frail, her days nearing their end.

Peebee didn’t miss them. At least that was what she told herself. She had been telling herself that for a long time. Ever since she had ran away and never stopped running. When she became Peebee and left her old life behind.

Kalinda had been the only one to understand that need to run and never look back. It was why she came to Andromeda, why she had asked Peebee to come too. They had ran away together and, for a little while, it had been good. Even as Andromeda and the Nexus crumbled around them, it had been good. Then Kalinda ran away without her and Peebee found herself alone once again, lost in an unknown galaxy.

So she stole a shuttle and ran away, determined to explore this unknown space, discover all its secrets before anyone else. The Remnant were just the start of it. Heleus was a small corner of a huge galaxy and there was so many mysteries out there to be found. And Peebee was going to find them all.

That had been the plan anyway. But several months later and here she was, still on the _Tempest_ , still following the Pathfinder into danger, into the unknown. It was the most fun she'd had in years and rarely did she think about her family, about Kalinda and all the promises they had made. And when she did, when her thoughts and memories became overwhelming, Peebee floated. The only way she knew how to find peace.

So when it disappeared suddenly, when the gravity returned abruptly and sent her crashing to the ground, Peebee was suitably furious.

“What the fuck?” she grumbled under her breath. She was a tangle of limbs, could taste blood in her mouth from biting her tongue. Poc let out a series of startled beeps before retreating to her usual corner. Peebee glowered at her, but the Remnant she had salvaged and upgraded over the past few months was oblivious to her annoyance. She hovered in the air waiting for commands that would not come as Peebee struggled to her feet.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She knew that voice. Peebee was far too familiar with the judgemental, disapproving lilt that was so often uttered in her presence. It reminded her of her sister, the way she would lecture Peebee when she came home late with no explanation, when she skipped school to go float or explore. Except Lexi T’Perro was worse than her sister. She was a doctor, a Matron and an asari who grew up far away from the homeworld, on Omega where she was exposed to all the wonders and depravity the galaxy had to offer.

And Peebee couldn’t stand her.

“Do you really need me to answer that?” Peebee grumbled. For a moment she felt off balance, felt the world tilt and taking her with it. The returning gravity had been so abrupt, she hadn’t had time to prepare for it and her body was protesting loudly for it.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous continued exposure to a zero-gravity environment is?” said Lexi. She had her arms folded tightly across her chest as she glared at Peebee from the doorway. She wasn’t exactly keeping her voice low and Peebee wondered idly if Kallo and Suvi were still on the bridge, listening carefully to every word. It wouldn’t be the first time the _Tempest_ crew had been exposed to the two asari arguing. Peebee was glad to give them a show. As annoying as Lexi could be, Peebee took a smug pleasure in winding her up, seeing how far she could go before Lexi finally snapped.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to tell me,” Peebee muttered and rolled her eyes when Lexi did just that.

“Long-term exposure can lead to muscle atrophy, osteopenia. Decreased cardiovascular blood flow that can result in balance disorders. Not to mention a weakened immune system. Which, given our line of work, can be incredibly dangerous the more we explore. And-”

“By the goddess, would you shut up,” Peebee snapped. Lexi was giving her a headache and the outraged look she shot her only made her more annoyed.

“This is serious, Peebee,” said Lexi, her voice tightly controlled.

“Maybe it would have been about three centuries ago, but there are medications now which…” Which Lexi would know about. Peebee narrowed her eyes. “Let me guess, the Pathfinder’s sick?”

Lexi didn’t react but for a brief flash in her eyes. The precious Pathfinder. Lexi’s career would be over if anything happened to Ryder.

“She came to me with severe nausea,” Lexi explained. “She told me what you two were… doing.”

Peebee bit her lip to hold back a smirk, wondering just how much Ryder had told her. Just the weightlessness or had she gone so far as to admit what happened next, the nakedness and the pleasure? Peebee still shivered from excitement just thinking about it. She hadn’t been with anyone since Kalinda and a human with no strings attached had been a nice change.

 _She’s jealous_ , Peebee realised and wanted to laugh. The doctor with the stick so firmly shoved up her ass she couldn’t bend over had fallen for the Pathfinder. The one person in Andromeda she could never have. But _she’d_ had her and it had been good. So good that Peebee was disappointed they had agreed to make it a one time only thing.

She did laugh then. Ungraciously and uncontrollably. Lexi glared at her and it only amused her more. _Lighten up, doc._ _We’re in Andromeda and we’re not dead yet._

“I’m glad to see you’re taking this seriously,” said Lexi, annoyed. But there was something else in her voice too, in her eyes. Disappointment. It sobered Peebee up immediately. Lexi spent so much of her time fussing over the Pathfinder, over them all really, watching out for both their physical and mental wellbeing that it must not have left Lexi with a lot of time for herself. _Who doctor’s the doctor?_

She must be so lonely.

Peebee didn’t like Lexi, but she didn’t know her very well either. She had never bothered to try to get to know her. She didn’t like doctors, or most asari, and Lexi was both. They had gotten off on the wrong foot the moment they had met and Peebee knew she was mostly to blame. She had made assumptions about Lexi and hadn’t bothered to correct them. Mainly because she hadn’t wanted to.

Now she wondered if she should. If she should give Lexi a chance and stop being so hard on her. But it was just so _easy_. Getting under the doctor’s skin was easy and a little bit fun, Peebee had to admit. And it wasn’t like Lexi never gave as good as she got. Most of the time anyway.

“Have you always been this uptight?” Peebee asked. The question was genuine, but Lexi took it the wrong way anyway. Peebee never had been very good with tact.

“I didn’t realise my concern for the wellbeing of this crew was considered uptight,” Lexi said haughtily. Anger flashed across her face, a little bit of hurt too. Far too easy to wind up.

“Not that,” said Peebee. “You in general. You’ve got to learn to relax, doc.”

“I know how to relax.” Lexi’s eyes narrowed as Peebee took a step towards her.

“Writing a thesis on anagaran mating habits doesn’t count.”

Lexi bristled at that. Five hundred pages she had asked Jaal to proofread for her and the angaran had barely gotten through a quarter of it before asking Peebee if all asari were this academically inclined. Perhaps he was worried Peebee was going to start asking him questions about the intimate details of angaran culture. But Peebee had never been interested in theory. She liked to get her hands dirty, to experiment. When she suggested this to Jaal the innuendo went completely over his head. Probably a good thing. She doubted leaving a trail of broken hearted angarans in her wake would do much for Initiative relations with the Andromeda natives.

“So…” said Peebee, sucking her tongue to hold back a grin. “What exactly do you do for fun?”

“I enjoy my work,” said Lexi adamantly. Peebee didn’t doubt it. But there were better ways to have fun. And she was an expert at it.

“I’m sure you do,” Peebee muttered, amused when Lexi stiffened as she invaded her personal space. She grabbed Lexi’s elbow, felt the muscles tense beneath her palm and pulled her all the way in so the door could slide shut firmly behind her.

“What are you doing?” Lexi’s voice had grown soft, unsure. And she stared at Peebee, doing nothing as her hand reached for the controls and shut off the gravity.

“Showing you how to relax.”

Peebee closed her eyes. Let the weightlessness take her. Here she was at peace, floating in nothing. For a moment she _was_ nothing. She was tiny in this huge universe, insignificant. She was free.

“Do you feel that?” she muttered. She kept her eyes closed. She could sleep like this. Exist like this, forever. Here, where she was weightless, nothing could touch her, nothing could break her. Not Kalinda or the kett or anyone or anything else. Here she was safe.

When no reply came, Peebee opened her eyes, found Lexi watching her carefully. Whatever amusement or antagonism Peebee may have felt towards the asari doctor was gone in that moment. Nothing was funny anymore and Lexi… Lexi was just as lost as she was.

“Are you and Ryder…” Lexi’s voice seemed to break at the end and her cheeks darkened, her eyes darting away to stare at Poc. The Remnant had got stuck in the bulkhead and she bobbed up and down, unable to break herself lose.

“Are we what?” Peebee asked, remembering burning skin and gentle caresses, the heady desperation to _feel_ something in this dangerous and lonely place.

But Lexi said nothing and it wasn’t the Pathfinder Lexi had fallen for, Peebee suddenly realised. Something tightened within her then. Something new and scary and exciting all at once. She looked at Lexi then, _really_ looked at her. She didn’t know her at all. All she thought she knew had been assumptions, her previous experiences with Kalinda affecting her judgement. But Lexi wasn’t Kalinda, even if Peebee was blinded by similarities in their features. It was time to let Kalinda go, to start anew. To give Lexi the chance she deserved.

“Ryder…” Peebee began and when Lexi met her gaze, Peebee was the one to look away. “Ryder’s the Pathfinder,” she said as if that settled everything. Maybe it did. Ryder had the weight of the whole cluster on her shoulders. Blowing off some steam with Peebee had been nice, fun for them both. But it wasn’t something that would last. Ryder had accepted her duty a long time ago. And that duty was a burden she would bear alone until this was over. Peebee understood that better than anyone. Keep your distance, no strings attached and no one would get hurt. _She_ wouldn’t get hurt. Not again.

“Right,” said Lexi. She was closer now, Peebee realised and wondered if that was Lexi’s doing or if they had just floated towards each other, like magnets drawn together.

“I’m sorry I called you uptight.”

Lexi smiled. “Don’t be. I think it might be a little bit true.”

Peebee shrugged. She was sorry anyway. Sorry for giving Lexi such a hard time over the past few months. Lexi hadn’t deserved it. None of it. Peebee reached out a hand and found Lexi’s. It was warm in hers. It was real. She squeezed it gently, an apology and a promise all in one.

“Peebee…” Lexi’s voice had dipped, a low husk that sent a shiver of unexpected desire through Peebee. “I don’t… I can’t get involved with patients.” But she didn’t let go of Peebee’s hand.

“Patients,” said Peebee, “or asari?”

A sad smile curled Lexi’s lips. It filled Peebee with regret, with the urge to make it go away. “I’m not _that_ frumpy.”

Peebee blinked in surprise. Very few asari these days had an enlightened view about that. Her sister had been pureblood and it was a burden she’d had to bear her whole life. When people found out, there was always this _look_ , this distrust. It had bothered Peebee more than it had affected her sister. She supposed that was partly why she had gravitated towards Kalinda so strongly. Their relationship had always been volatile, uncertain, exciting. And a huge slap in the face to asari society.

“So what’s the problem then?” asked Peebee.

“You’re still my patient, Peebee.”

“Technically,” said Peebee, “I’m just a tag along.”

Technically, she wasn’t even supposed to be a part of the Initiative. She had no official role. She had Kalinda to thank for that.

“A tag along who gets herself into a hell of a lot of trouble.”

Peebee grinned. “You call it trouble… I say fun.”

But Lexi let go of her hand then, became stiff and serious as she floated in front of Peebee.

“You’re being uptight again,” said Peebee. Annoyance laced her voice. She hadn’t asked Lexi to come here, never asked for Lexi to have feelings for her. But there it was anyway and Peebee felt that urge to run again. Running, after all, was a lot easier than staying.

“Maybe,” Lexi agreed sadly. “Perhaps that’s a good thing.”

And Peebee wondered then, who she had lost. Who Lexi had failed to save. Someone important, she thought. The most important person in the whole galaxy. In Lexi’s eyes anyway.

“I won’t be your patient forever,” said Peebee and Lexi smiled. It was all the hope she needed. And when Peebee took her hand again, tugged her towards her, Lexi didn’t object, didn’t stop Peebee as she brought their lips together.

A chaste kiss, brief and soft and so very real. A promise of the future.

 


End file.
